Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

548: Product Management vs Project Management with Bethan Ashley


Listen Later

What if, instead of asking how to integrate AI into your product, the question was, should you? During this episode, Jared Turner and Sami Birnbaum interview Senior Product Manager at thoughtbot and Founderland Startup Mentor, Bethan Ashley, who shares her insights and advice on how and when to leverage AI tooling. Sharing her career journey leading up to this point, Bethan makes the key distinction between project management and product management, and why this is essential to understand. Next, you’ll hear about her views on the importance of talking to customers about your products and the different ways to reach them effectively. We get into some of the classic reasons that products fail, the appropriate time to bring in a product manager, and a few of the techniques, prompts, and exercises that Bethan favors when mentoring others. Join us as we unpack how to avoid common pitfalls, discuss practical steps to overcome the fear of failure, and share advice for those seeking to put AI tooling into their product. Thanks for tuning in.

Key Points From This Episode:

From building bespoke apps for companies to product management, mentorship, and more: Bethan Ashley’s career journey.

Distinguishing between project management and product management.
Why talking to your customers is fundamental to successful products.
Some of the many different ways to reach customers.
Classic reasons that products fail.
How to identify the point at which a product manager has become a necessity.
Bethan’s path to mentorship through Founderland.
The Speedy Eights exercise that she uses to prompt ideas.
Advice to avoid common pitfalls: just get started.
Exploring the obstacle created by the fear of failure.
Strategies from the book The Mom Test.
Insights on AI in the day-to-day product management space.
Advice for those seeking to put AI tooling into their product.
Spicy takes on product management.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Bethan Ashley on LinkedIn

Founderland
Customer Discovery Playbook
The Mom Test
Gamma
Gemini
Loom
Figma
Motion
WIP is waste
Jared Turner on X
Jared Turner on LinkedIn
Will Larry on X
Will Larry on LinkedIn
thoughtbot
thoughtbot on LinkedIn
thoughtbot on X
Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast
[Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Email]([email protected])
Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant RobotsBy thoughtbot

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

88 ratings


More shows like Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

View all
Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,945 Listeners

Build Phase by thoughtbot

Build Phase

43 Listeners

The Bike Shed by thoughtbot

The Bike Shed

121 Listeners

Reboot by thoughtbot

Reboot

12 Listeners

Tentative by thoughtbot

Tentative

9 Listeners

Soft Skills Engineering by Jamison Dance and Dave Smith

Soft Skills Engineering

282 Listeners

The Lazy Genius Podcast by Kendra, The Lazy Genius

The Lazy Genius Podcast

6,544 Listeners

REWORK by 37signals

REWORK

211 Listeners

Crossroads by thoughtbot

Crossroads

2 Listeners

Remote Ruby by Chris Oliver, Andrew Mason

Remote Ruby

34 Listeners

Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend by Team Coco & Earwolf

Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend

59,149 Listeners

Oxide and Friends by Oxide Computer Company

Oxide and Friends

58 Listeners

Rooftop Ruby Podcast by Collin Donnell, Joel Drapper

Rooftop Ruby Podcast

3 Listeners

On Rails by Rails Foundation, Robby Russell

On Rails

8 Listeners